Insurance

LESSoN THIRTEEN   TEXT  A   单词   Insurance policy premium1 broker   Insurance again sth.   Agency   Estate agent   protector---protective---protectionism   Consumption -----customer   Interrupt---bother   Disturbance---disturbed   An evil tongue   Sum sth. Up   Summing-up   A large sum of money   Wonder   Miraculous   Sufficient--- enough----abundant   Adequacy   Major---minor   Majority---minority   Remind sb. of sth.   Reminder   Dangerous   possible----impossible   Injure   He was injured in the car accident.   He was wounded in the war.   I hurtcut myself with the knife.   Finance----financier   Lose---lost---lost   Rationality   Unlucky-----lucky   Fortunate----fortune   occurrence   Complicated-----simple   Complexity   profession-----unprofessional   Ignore-----ignorant   Intelligent-----intelligence   Someway----somewhat=a little bit   Conceptual   opposite to sb.sth.   opposition   There is a supermarket opposite the post-office.   Foundation   Efficient-----effectiveness   Efficiency   on duty----safe-guard             Bodyguard   At most ----- at least   In fact--- as a matter of fact   Look at   Handle----cope with       课文                                    Insurance       An insurance agent called me this morning. This particular agent wanted to discuss my automobile3 coverage4, but the next agent to call might be interested in my life insurance program, my health insurance, or fire protection for my home and furniture. The American consumer often feels constantly disturbed by insurance agents. Many agents selling many different policies call us by phone and sometimes even come to our door. These insurance agents are always friendly, well dressed, and eager to be of help.       Yet few Americans really enjoy visiting with these eager, helpful men and women. We are not happy when they call us; we are on guard when they visit our home. They are never really our friends; at best, they are a necessary evil.       Three reasons why we are unwilling5 to discuss insurance can be suggested. First of all, insurance is expensive. A young father who purchases a fairly small life insurance policy agrees to pay a sum of $200 every year for 40 years -- a total of $8,000. Many college students pay $800 to $1,000 per year for car insurance. In effect, they pay as much for the insurance as they do for the car itself. Health insurance (that __ (pay) for modern medical miracles) often costs Americans as much as $2,000 every year. Adequate insurance is expensive; it is a major item for most families.       Insurance also reminds us that we live in an __ (safe) world. We are human and we must face the possibilities of illness, injury, death, and financial loss. our rational2 minds recognize the many unfortunate events (that can occur), but in our hearts we hope that we might be spared. Serious injury or death is not a pleasant subject to discuss or even consider. We are afraid; we would rather talk about football or the weather or what we had for lunch.       Finally, insurance is a difficult, complex subject. No one understands it completely and only a few insurance professionals really feel comfortable in a discussion of automobile, life, and major medical coverages. We feel inadequate6 and try to hide our ignorance7 by avoiding discussions of insurance.       Yet these three reasons (for not discussing insurance) provide three excellent reasons (why we should learn more about it). Insurance is expensive. In a lifetime, many of us spend as much on insurance as we do on the purchase of a home. If we are to spend our money intelligently, we need information about the products and services available. We dont depend entirely8 on salespeople9 when we buy a car, a house, or a suit of clothes. Neither should we depend entirely on the agent when we buy insurance. We need a basic knowledge of insurance coverages if we are to be intelligent consumers.       The intelligent consumer looks problems in the face. Although accident, illness, and death are not pleasant subjects, each of us knows we face these possibilities. It is better that we plan for these situations by finding means to deal with them than to just hope that they will somehow go away.       Although insurance can be complex, its basic concepts are neither difficult nor impossible to learn. Quite the opposite. Insurance fundamentals can be understood by those willing to study them. Serious study provides knowledge. The study of insurance is an effective, proven method of dealing10 with the insurance ignorance faced by many American families.

1 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

2 rational   

adj.合理的，理性的，能推理的；n.有理数

参考例句：

• It was a rational plan and bound to succeed.这是一个合理的计划，肯定会成功。
• The reasoning seems rational.这论据似乎是合乎情理的。

3 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

7 ignorance   

n.无知，愚昧，不了解，（of，about）不知道

参考例句：

• The relation of disease to poverty and ignorance is easy to see.疾病与贫穷、无知之间的关系是显而易见的。
• Maybe it is all due to my own ignorance.也许是我少见多怪。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 salespeople   

n.售货员，店员；售货员( salesperson的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The shop usually employs additional salespeople for the Christmas toy trade. 这家商店通常雇一些临时售货员来做圣诞节玩具生意。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Under our new system, salespeople sit down with each of our dealers. 根据新的制度，销售人员应逐个地同承销商洽商。 来自辞典例句

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。